OUR SHOCK-ABSORBERS

“A mother is not a person to lean on, 

but a person to make leaning unnecessary.” 

— Dorothy Canfield Fisher

"The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world."

No prizes for guessing whose hand that is...

"God could not be everywhere; so, he created mothers."

So, God outsourced some of His stress and tension to our mothers, you see. No wonder, mothers are called our 'shock absorbers'!

A couple of days ago, Happy's (a boy) mother called up. "Sir, I am Happy's mother... He doesn't have class today?" she sounded quite anxious.

It was the third class in a row Happy had missed. The reason given to me was, that he was busy with the college fest. Now, with whatever little interaction I had with this 18-year-old F.Y. BMS student, I knew, that he could be nowhere on the stage to display any of his talent. So, curiously, I had asked, "What are you busy with, dear?"

"Security"!

For those who are not familiar with this 'talent-profile' during college fests, here is the ghyan:

'It means, being a security guard at the fests. The college fest-budgets can only afford these 'talented' kids to 'secure' all the beautiful girls in their campuses, you see!

Anyway, when I told Happy's mother what reason he had given for his hat-trick bunking of my class, she screamed, "Sir, he is a liar... He is still on his bed (10 am!)... When I asked him about the class, he said, 'Sir has given one week off'!"

"Send him now, ma'am," I calmed down Happy's mom. Rather, I let her outsource some of her stress and tension to me, her son's teacher. So, how about calling us - teachers of all Happy's in this world -  ,too, as the 'Shock Absorbers'?

My mother worries about me (61) my elder brother (63) and her three other sons - our wives, children and their girlfriends, always. Just last night, she was on phone... "How's your health, Putha?" her inquiry, always, precedes mine. Her worn hands still rock our cradles, you see... 

Mothers still have enough in them to keep absorbing...

Do they?

"They have enough on their hands... They have done enough for you, so far," I keep hammering my Happy's, almost everyday, "Come on grow up... Tell them, 'Mom, relax, I will handle my things'... Give them a break, dudes... Grow up."

Last night, Urjit's mom texted me... "Sir, Urjit is struggling with 'Cash Flow'. Can you please help him with it? He is really tensed."

"Ma'am, don't worry; I will surely help him," I calmed down Urjit's tensed mom...

By the way, for those who are still guessing what cash flow Urjit's mom was talking about, let me explain: 'Cash Flow' is a chapter from Management Accounts. They have kept it in the syllabus of all Commerce kids, hoping that kids become good at managing their cash flows (I am not talking about the cash flows of giant corporates!)...

Hello, moms do... 

Urjit Patel couldn't manage the RBI... So, you know why he quit!

Mothers don't quit, Urjits!

My younger brother Vivek had silently nursed a desire to repay our mom's debt. He had seen how she had managed to send us to college... Dad was just a mechanic... He hardly earned some hundreds... He drank heavily though he was a very loving dad. Thus, it was left for our mom to manage the cash flow... She had lost whatever little gold she had, in order to make us graduates. Yes, years later, Vivek got a heavy gold chain done - we called it 'Sorpoli' in Konkani - and proudly gifted it to our mom... A huge relief, you can say, to a guilt-ridden son!

Barely some five years later, when Vivek was juggling with his own cash flow, our mom quietly put the sorpoli in his hand and said, "Son, I haven't worn it even once, any way... It will be of some help to you, now!"

Our mom has done such things to all her five sons, including this one. In 2008, she had come to Mumbai to attend one of THE DAWN CLUB functions in a grand venue. The Club was turning 20 and I had just turned 50. Two of my books, 'Vaachas Chame' and 'The Echoes of the Dawn' were to be released during this function. A day after the function, Vivek had taken our mom and two families to watch a Hindi movie in a multiplex... Mom was sitting next to me. Midway, during the movie, I could feel her hand trying to place something in mine... "Son, just keep it... You must've spent a lot on the books and function... It may help you... Don't tell anyone," she whispered in the darkness!

"Let your left hand not know what your right hand gives." Our mom has practiced what Christ had preached... 

Such is the practical religion, which all moms practice!

Manan, my student, plays football for a professional team... He just cannot cope with the timings of my class. So, his mom has taken upon her to manage his 'time'... While half of it stems from Manan's laid-back attitude, his mom - being a mom - has taken upon her the shock-absorber's role... 

Aryaman's mom, too...

Netra's too... 

Shivansh's too...

Two days ago, Nehansh sent me this message, "Sir, this is my mom's number... I won't be having a mobile till my exams are over!"

"HaHaHa, good Job, ma'am... good detox... good riddance," I complimented the mother hen!

I remembered what Lauryn Hill said, "A strong mother doesn’t tell her cub, 'Son, stay weak so the wolves can get you'.  She says, 'toughen up, this is reality we are living in'."

I, also, remembered the popular mother-giraffe story, so beautifully told by Gaur Gopal Das... I have regularly shown this video to our young giraffes...

The wolves or the giraffes, the cats or the dogs, the eagles or the  pigeons, the crocodiles or the salmons... all of them know, that their young ones have to be on their own, sooner or later.  "But, why has God been so kind - or unkind - to human species?" I really wonder.

GERALD D'CUNHA

Pic.: www.alamy.com

Video: Gaur Gopal Das